Oscar analysis: No problem for 'No Country'

Monday

Feb 25, 2008 at 12:01 AMFeb 25, 2008 at 11:13 PM

Oscar went over to the Dark Side last night, honoring films so depressing movie theaters should have handed out Prozac with tickets. If the 80th annual Academy Awards were a horse race, it would be called the Bleakness Stakes.

Bob Tremblay

Oscar went over to the Dark Side last night, honoring films so depressing movie theaters should have handed out Prozac with tickets.

If the 80th annual Academy Awards were a horse race, it would be called the Bleakness Stakes.

"No Country for Old Men," the tale of a hit man behaving badly, captured the Academy Award for Best Picture, beating out such other downbeat dramas as "There Will Be Blood," the tale of an oilman behaving badly, "Atonement," the tale of a young girl behaving badly, and "Michael Clayton," the tale of a corporation behaving badly.

Only "Juno," a tale of a teenage girl behaving badly, could be considered a crowd-pleaser, and that film focuses on the charming topic of teen pregnancy. That it paints such a relatively blissful picture of teen pregnancy didn't seem to bother audiences, who spent more time kvetching about the troubling conclusions of "Country" and "Blood."

The Academy enjoyed "Juno" enough to give the Best Original Screenplay to former stripper Diablo Cody. Who says Hollywood doesn't value family values?

In continuing to reward bad behavior, the Academy gave the Best Director prize to Joel and Ethan Coen, who brought Cormac McCarthy's novel, "No Country for Old Men," to the screen. The film, which tied "Blood" for most Oscar nominations with eight, garnered two other awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem, who played the bad hit man with the bad haircut, and Best Adapted Screenplay for the Coen brothers. No other film garnered more Oscar gold.

With their victory, the Coen brothers become only the second duo to share the director prize. The first pair to turn this trick were Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for "West Side Story" in 1961. The last directing duo nominated for the same film were Warren Beatty and Buck Henry for "Heaven Can Wait" in 1978. They lost to Michael Cimino for "The Deer Hunter."

Joel Coen had been previously nominated for Best Director for "Fargo" in 1996, losing to Anthony Minghella for "The English Patient."

The Academy kept the gall rolling by giving the Best Actor Oscar to Daniel Day-Lewis, who played the aforementioned oilman in "Blood" with all the warmth and fuzziness of a crocodile with distemper. He received the award for the simple reason that he deserved it.

How good is Day-Lewis? He seems to get nominated for an Oscar for every film in which he stars. He was previously nominated for "Gangs of New York" (2002, losing to Adrien Brody for "The Pianist"), "In the Name of the Father" (1993, losing to Tom Hanks for "Philadelphia") and "My Left Foot" (1989, winning). He's now batting .500. Not bad.

For Best Actress, the Academy also did the right thing by honoring the best performance of last year in giving the Oscar to French actress Marion Cotillard for her incredible performance as Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose." The film follows in the successful footsteps of such recent biopics as "Ray" and "Walk the Line."

Julie Christie had been considered the favorite for her stunning portrayal of a woman with Alzheimer's disease in "Away from Her." Apparently it wasn't stunning enough. She's also a previous winner - for "Darling" in 1965 - which could have hurt her chances. It obviously didn't hurt Day-Lewis'.

Some pundits picked Ellen Page as their upset special for her highly popular performance as the pregnant teen in "Juno."

But talent won out. Cotillard doesn't just act like Piaf in "La Vie en Rose." She becomes her. It's a mesmerizing performance. Her victory is also noteworthy as she becomes only the second actress to win the Best Actress Oscar in a foreign-language film. Italian actress Sophia Loren accomplished the feat first in 1961 with "Two Women." It's Cotillard's first Oscar on her first nomination.

Returning to the theme of excessive grimness, it should be pointed out that Piaf's life was far from rosy.

For Best Supporting Actress, the Academy pulled a shocker by giving the award to British actress Tilda Swinton for playing an attorney who behaves, that's right, badly in "Michael Clayton." Most pundits had picked either Cate Blanchett for "I'm Not There" or Amy Ryan for "Gone Baby Gone." Others opined that the Academy would get sentimental and give the award to veteran actress Ruby Dee for "American Gangster" even though her screen time was limited.

So how did Swinton, known for portraying idiosyncratic characters in idiosyncratic films, pull off the upset? Perhaps the Oscar folks could relate to dealing with lowlife lawyers, appreciate how despicably Swinton portrayed one and revel in how "Michael Clayton" dealt with the evil barrister. Perhaps the award is a nod to the film's popular star, George Clooney. The more likely reason is that Swinton turned in a great performance, as did all the other nominees. Just no one expected her to win. Anyone who had Swinton on his or her Oscar scorecard should apply to Harvard right now because you're a genius. Or perhaps you're related to an Academy voter. The Oscar is Swinton's first on her first nomination.

So what gives with all this badness? Is the Academy simply reflecting the angst pervasive in a country involved in a drawn-out, unpopular war? Or is it just a fluke? Before the Philistines start criticizing today's Academy for being out of touch with mainstream America, just note that the Oscar folks have historically honored movies with a mean streak. The reason is simple: there's not a lot of drama in unconditional kindness. Even Oscar-winning musicals have displayed an edge, such as "Chicago," a film about women with a yen for homicide. My goodness, even "The Sound of the Music" had Nazis.

This year's nominees in nearly every category eschewed feel-goodness for something bordering on reality, and reality is seldom pleasing, which explains why audiences stayed away from most of the nominated films in droves. Nothing new here either. It would be safe to say the majority of moviegoers prefer to be entertained rather than watch characters display depravity, debauchery or good old-fashioned misanthropy.

The problem with that attitude is that this majority is denying themselves the pleasure gained from watching filmmakers and thespians at the top of their game.

Case in point, Bardem's hit man - an assassin who takes ruthlessness to new heights or depths, depending on your opinion of hit men. The award is Bardem's first Oscar. He had previously been nominated for Best Actor for "Before Night Falls" in 2000 but lost to Russell Crowe for "Gladiator." The award simply serves as proof of what a talented actor Bardem is. Expect the Spanish actor to be an Academy regular.

In addition to making room for gloom, the Academy demonstrated a preference for thespians from across the pond, giving the top acting awards to a Brit (Day-Lewis), a Frenchwoman (Cotillard), a Spaniard (Bardem) and a Brit (Swinton). This year the Academy gets the U.N. seal of approval.

The last time all four top acting awards went to foreigners was 1964 when the winners were British actor Rex Harrison (Best Actor for "My Fair Lady"), British actress Julie Andrews (Best Actress for "Mary Poppins"), British actor Peter Ustinov (Best Supporting Actor for "Topkapi") and Russian actress Lila Kedrova (Best Supporting Actress for "Zorba the Greek").

Condolences - again - go to Kevin O'Connell, who received his 20th Oscar nomination in 25 years for sound mixing, this year for "The Transformers." His film lost to "The Bourne Ultimatum."